Did you know that mental stimulation can tire a dog out as much as physical exercise does?
As the saying goes, a tired dog is a good dog. But what if your dog has been out for a playdate or a run on the trails and is still full of energy? How do you keep your dog from getting into trouble at home?
Here are 10 ideas for engaging your dog’s brain:
Play “find it”. Let your dog sniff one of their favorite toys, then put your dog in a stay position (or shut in another room or their crate). Put the toy in another room, out in plain sight. Tell your dog to “find it”; your dog will love searching for the toy and will be so proud bringing it back to you. Give lots of praise to the smartest dog in the world! As your dog gets good at this, make the search harder. If you call each toy a different name, you can progress to hiding more than one toy and telling your dog to “find A”, then “find B”.
Let your dog sniff!
Instead of going for a regular walk, let your dog lead the way and allow them to stop and smell the roses (and the chipmunk’s den, and the scents left behind by other dogs, and grass, and trees, and rocks, etc).
Put treats under tennis balls in a cupcake tin and let your dog figure out how to get to the reward.
If you have an old yoga mat, unroll it and scatter a few treats along its length. Roll up the mat, leaving a 1-foot tail; put a treat right at the seam of the roll. Tell your dog to “push”. Your dog will go for the treat they can see, then their nose will take over and they will begin searching for additional treats.
Hide a treat under one of three cups, shuffle the cups and let your dog find the treat.
Teach your dog a new trick. There are many training books and videos - choose a simple trick that will be fun for you and your dog.
Try out some puzzle toys - our favorites are from Outward Hound. You can find them and other puzzle games here. The puzzles come in different levels of difficulty; choose puzzles that are easy enough for your dog to be successful, yet challenging enough to keep your dog engaged.
Teach your dog the names of their toys.
Put the toys in a pile and ask your dog to get a particular toy. So many tasty treats for success!
Make your dog work for their food by using a food puzzle. Any toy that can be filled with kibble and that has a dispensing hole in it can be used.
Scatter feeding. Hide treats or kibble on the ground inside or out in your (secure) yard. Your dog’s natural foraging instincts will kick in and your pet will have a lovely time searching for a tasty reward.
Mix it up! Try a variety of activities to keep your dog involved.
